Saturday News, February 2

Legislative Forums Scheduled

(Le Mars) -- State Senator Bill Anderson and State Representative Chuck Soderberg will hold two legislative forums that are open to the public. The first is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. this morning and will be held at the Le Mars Public Library. Following that forum, the state lawmakers will be in Remsen at 11:30 a.m. at the Remsen City Hall.

School District Host Legislative Forum

(Le Mars) -- Prior to the two public legislative forums, the state lawmakers will visit with school officials from Plymouth County school districts as the Le Mars Community School District host an educational legislative forum at the Le Mars Educational Service Center. School officials are interested in knowing how much funding will be directed to local districts, the education reform bill that is making its way through the general session, and core curriculum changes.

Williams Comments On Educational Issues

(Le Mars) -- A lot of attention is being devoted to educational issues from the local standpoint of the Le Mars Community School District hosting an educational legislative forum on Saturday, to the state legislature working on measures of funding education and teacher evaluations, to Governor Branstad's goal to reform education, and all the way up to the federal level of the "No Child Left Behind" Act. But how many changes will occur, or need to occur, with our educational system. Dr. Larry Williams is a former superintendent for Sioux City, Hinton and the Akron-Westfield school districts. Williams, now retired, serves as a consultant relating to educational issues. One measure being proposed by the state legislature is to require college students wanting to pursue a career in teaching to take additional tests to qualify them as a teacher. Williams says testing future teachers may not determine whether an individual will make a good teacher. Listen to

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The Governor and the state legislature hope to create a method of teacher evaluations which would in part be based upon the student's performance. Williams questions whether such action would be fair to the student. He says good teachers use several means to adequately assess a student's performance, and there isn't one way that is the best method for assessing the student's progress. Williams says Iowa is famous for developing a standardized means of testing with the former Iowa Test of Basic Skills for elementary and junior high students, and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development used for high school students. Listen to

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Williams says teachers and parents alike are always interested in the progress and assessment of a student. Listen to

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Monday we will continue our series of reports focusing on educational issues.

Police Arrest Brunsville Man For Area Home Thefts

(Le Mars) -- Police say a man who posed as a hired handyman has been arrested in connection with thefts at Le Mars area homes. Drew Feller, 38, of Brunsville was arrested Friday on a felony charge of second-degree theft. Feller is accused of stealing items from homes while posing as a hired handyman, according to a Plymouth County Sheriff's office statement. Each victim of the scheme lost more than $1,000. The number of incidents was not released. Both the Le Mars Police Department and the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department jointly investigated the thefts. Feller was being held Friday evening at the Plymouth County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Union Pacific Train De-rails In O'Brien County

SHELDON, Iowa (AP) - Authorities are investigating the cause of a train derailment in northwest Iowa. 25 rail cars came off the tracks Thursday night outside Ritter in O'Brien County. The cars remained upright and most were empty. No injuries were reported. The Union Pacific Railroad train had departed from Sioux Cityand was headed for Minnesota. A company spokesman says it's possible a broken rail caused the derailment.

Livestock Seminar Focusing On Drought Conditions Scheduled For Monday

(Le Mars) -- Last year's drought not only affected grain farmers, but it also left many livestock producers stressed, particularly about feed supplies for livestock and poultry. Iowa State University and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation are hosting a seminar scheduled for Monday, February 4th. Plymouth County Extension Coordinator, Carol Schneider says the conference will address options for livestock producers.

Listen to

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Schneider says the conference will be split between the morning session and the afternoon session with the morning half the speakers will address the conference via web cam through the internet. She says the morning session will feature speakers discussing both grain and livestock markets, as well as weather. Listen to

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The afternoon session will have speakers at the designated locations talking about various livestock issues. At the Le Mars Convention Center, Beth Doran, ISU Beef Specialist and Joel DeJong will discuss beef related and crop issues. At Storm Lake, Dave Stender will focus on swine issues, and at Orange City Kevin Lager will focus on dairy issues. There is no cost to attend the seminar. The conference will begin at 10:00 a.m.

Ho Chunk Centre Has Water Main Break

(Sioux City) -- Clean up is continuintg at the Ho-Chunk Centre, formerally the Terra Towwer located at 4th and Nebraska Streets in Sioux City after a sprinkler pipe burst early Friday morning. Sioux City Fire Department spokesman Jesse Pedersen says trucks were dispatched to the building around 7:00 a.m. to respond to an alarm and found water coming from the building.

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Pedersen says water also flowed into the basement of the office building causing some damage there. A city crew shut off water to the entire building to stop the flow. Water was still off as of 12:30 p.m., However, the Wells Fargo Bank and other offices were open for business. An estimate on damage to the building has not yet been determined.

U of I Hospitals and Mercy Medical - Des Moines Form A Liver Center

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The University of Iowa and two Des Moines-area health care groups are forming a new organization to improve and coordinate care for patients with liver disease. The university said Friday the Iowa Liver Center will be a partnership between its Organ Transplant Center, the Iowa Digestive Disease Center in Clive and Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines and itsaffiliates. The center will offer diagnostic, treatment and support services for people with diseases of the liver in central and western Iowa. University officials say it will bring together leading digestivedisease physicians, transplant surgeons and others to manage care, with a goal of improving quality and efficiency. The partnership allows the groups to share clinical data. UI professor Alan Reed says the center should provide a better experience for patients.

Cedar Rapids Says "No More Billboards"

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Officials in Cedar Rapids are imposing a six-month moratorium on permit requests for new billboards and digital signs. The City Council voted unanimously on the moratorium Friday. The city's Department of Community Development, which will help the council set new rules to be in place within 120 days, will meet with sign companies to discuss sign density, locations and otherissues. The station reports the council has discussed changing the rules for billboards and digital signs for months. As a result, sign companies have been filing requests for new signs ahead of thevote. ---

Wind Turbine Factory Re-calling Workers

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) - A southeast Iowa factory that makes wind turbine blades has recalled some workers laid off last fall as orders increase. Siemens Energy has recalled 13 workers to its Fort Madison plant and is looking for another 73 to bring back to their jobs. Plant manager Tony McDowell says new orders are coming in and as business expands the work force will be increased to match demand. Some of the new orders are coming from projects in Brazil and Chile. More than 400 workers received layoff notices in September. The company blamed difficult market conditions, lack of congressional action on a wind energy tax credit, and increased use of natural gas-fired power plants. Congress passed tax credit extension in January. ---